Collaborators:

 

 

Sponsor:

RA:

 

Rick Colwell, Brian Wood (OSU)

Robin Gerlach, Andrew Mitchell, Montana State Univ.

George Redden, Idaho Natl. Lab.

DOE Environmental Remediation Science Program (ERSP)

Sassan Ostvar, Gabe Iltis, Ryan Armstrong

The focus of this project is to experimentally characterize and computationally describe the growth, evolution, and spatial distribution of microbial activity and mineral precipitates in porous media that receive two or more reactive amendments. The model system chosen for this project is based on a method for immobilizing 90Sr, which involves stimulating microbial urea hydrolysis with ensuing mineral precipitation (CaCO3), and co-precipitation of Sr (40), however the concept has broad application to the remediation of subsurface contaminants. Studies at different laboratory scales are used to quantitatively explain the spatial relationships between amendment transport and consumption that stimulates the production of biomass and mineral phases that subsequently modify the permeability and heterogeneity of the porous media.